Capping machine



July 20, 1943.

E. S. MINARD CAPPING MACHINE A Filed Aug. 26, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOKi EVERETT MINARD M ii;

July 20, 1943. E. s. MINARD CAPPING MAGHDIE Filed Aug. 26, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. EVERETT ISJMINARD F IG. 3

July 20, 1943. s. MINARD 4,

. CAPPING MACHINE Filed Aug. 26, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR.

' EVERETT s. MINARD July 20, 1943c s! MINARD 2,324,794

CAPPING MACHINE- Filed Aug. 26, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG.6

FIG. 7

INVENTOR. EVERE-TT s. MINARD i 1943- E. s; MINARD CAPPIN'G MACHINE Filed Aug. 26, 19 .0

5 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG. 8

INVENTOR. EVERETT S. MINARD Patented July 20., 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CAPPiNG MACTIH'NE .iiverett s'. Min-aid, San Francisco, cane, assignor, by mesiie assignments, to The Pfaudler 00., Rochester, N. Y., a corporation of New York application August 26, 1940, Serial No. 354,200

9 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements a capping inachine, and its principal object is to provide a machine for capping containers while they are in motion. Heretofore it has been the ipractice, in bottle-capping machines, to cause jthe bottle to come to a dead stop while applying the cap. This causes a certain amount of jerking, and particularly in milk bottles which have a large neck and are usually filled clear to the rim, considerable spilling of themilk over the top of the bottle.

In the present invention it is proposed to avoid this undesirable feature and to provide a capping {means which allows the container to proceed at its regular rate of travel while the capping operation takes place.

More particularly it is proposed to provide a capping device that travels back and forth in synchronized relation to the travel of the bottles or containers, travelling along with the bottle during the capping operation and reversing its direction after the capping operation is finished to engage the next bottle or container, after the latter has reached a proper position forthe beginning of the capping operation. It is further proposed, for the'purpose herein'abovesetforth, to provide means for causing the capping device to follow an endless path in a vertical plane, the capping operation taking place while the capping device passes through the lower arc of its endless path.

It is further'proposed to control the movement of the capping device in such a mannerthat the endless path described by its movement is oval or egg-shaped in form, the device travelling through the narrow portion of the oval during the capping operation, whereby v more perfect timing and coaction is secured.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will appear as the specification proceeds and the novel features of my capping machine will be fully set forth in the claims hereto attached.

"The preferred form of my invention is'illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming part of this application, in which: .1

Figure 1 shows a fragmentary plan view of my machine, with part of the mechanism omitted;

Figure 2, a vertical section taken along line Figure 6, an isometric view of a second frame carried by the first frame with freedom of horizontal sliding movement;

Figure 7, an isometric view of amounting for the capping device; and

Figure 8, a projection diagram showing the respective paths taken by the capping device and the bottle to be capped. a

While I have shown only the preferred form of my invention, I wish to have it understood that various changes or modifications may be made within the scope of the claims hereto attached without departing from the spirit of the invention. In the following description, reference will be made particularly to a machine for capping milk bottles of the conventional type, but it should be understood that the principles of the machine maybe applied to any other capping machine regardless of what kind of container is to be capped.

Referring to the drawings in detail, andparticularly to Figures 1 and 2 thereof, it win he noted that the disc or table I is supported on the ball bearing 2 and is fixed ,to a vertical shaft 3 which latter is held in vertical position by the two bearings 6 and I of the housing 4 supported at a suitable height by the legs 5. As will be seen from Figure 1, a second shaft 8 is supported vertically in spaced relation to the shaft 3 and carries a star 9 partly projecting over the table I, and intended to time the travel of the bottles 4| on the table. f a

The shaft 8 is driven from the shaft 3 by means of gears ID and I l in the ratio of 2 to 1, the star turning twice as fast as the table, and the star having four notches for controlling the bottle travel, so that eight bottles will be fed to the capping device for each revolution of the table.

A crank shaft I2 is supported radiallyin the wall of the housing by means of two bearings 13 and I4 forming part of the crank bracket. l5 suitably bolted to the housing. The crank shaftcarries at its inner end,,a pinion 16 which meshes with the bevel gear ll, rigidly fastened to the shaft 3. This connection is in the ratio of 8 to 1, so that, when power is applied to the crank shaft plate 12 from any suitable source, the latter will ro tate the shaft 3 in the specified ratio.

The crank shaft also serves as a driving means for the capping device, which latter is made to operate once for each operation of the crank shaft, so that the entire machine is designed and timed to cap eight bottles for one revolution of the table, which corresponds to the number of bottles released by the star during the same period.

The bracket l5 supports two parallel vertical guide rods I8 which rise along the edge of the disc I to a considerable height above the latter and which are interconnected at the top by the tie-bar l9. A frame 25, shown in detail in Figure 4 and having an open center is slidably mounted with freedom of vertical reciprocating motion on the guide rods l8 and supports, in lugs two horizontal rods or trunnions 25. Reciprocating motion is imparted to the frame 20 by means of the connecting rod 2| having its lower end connected to the crank of the crank shaft l2 by means of a suitable bearing, and having its upper end connected to the pin 22 secured to the frame 25 through ears 23.

A second frame 24, shown in detail in Figure 6, is fastened upon the first frame 28 with freedom of lateral or horizontal reciprocating movement. This second frame comprises a channeled vertical body section movable forward-of the space between the guide-bars |8 and laterally-extending arms terminating in rearward extensions and perforated, as at 25, to ride on the horizontal rods 25.

A stud 21 projects from the-rear face of the second frame 24 between the guide-rods l8 and serves as a means for transmitting crosswise reciprocating motion to the second frame. This stud is actuated by means of a lever 28, shown in detail in Figure 3. The lever-28 is-secured relative to the guide-rods I8 by means'of a bracket 29, shown-in detail in Figure 5. The bracket is made in the form of an arch, and is fastened upon the guide-rods l8 approximately mid-way between the crank of the shaft l2 and the stud 21.

The lever 28 is secured upon the bracket 29 by means of the screw 30, as illustrated in Figure 2. Both ends of the lever 28 are forked,- and the lower end ismade to straddle the crank of the shaft i2, while the upper end of the lever is made to engage over the stud 27.

In this manner the connecting link 2| serves to impartvertical reciprocating motion to the first frame 20 which carries the second frame, while the link 28 serves to impart crosswise reciprocating motion to the second frame 24. Both the link 2| and the lever 28 are driven by the crank of the crank shaft l2.

Attention is called at this point to the-peculiar action of the lever 28. It will be noted that the leverage on which the lever operates is subject to constant change, since the operative length of each lever arm' changes with each change :in position of the crank pin and the stud 21. Figure 2 shows the crank pin in its lowermost position, and in that position it engages the extreme lower end of the lever arm. As the crank pin rotates, it rises, and when it reaches its uppermost position, it engages the lever arm in the upper end of the fork, thereby considerably reducing the operative length of the lower lever arm.

At the same time the stud 21 is moved upward by the connecting link 2| with the result that it rises in the upper fork substantially to 'the upper extremity thereof, so that the-operative length of the'upper lever arm increases during the upward travel of the crank pin. Thus there is'continuous variation in the relative lengths of the two lever arms. As shown in the drawing, in the position of Figure 2, the operative length of'the lower armexceeds that of the upper arm,

whereas for the extreme upper position of the crank pin, the reverse would be true.

This construction affects the curve described by the pin 21. At the beginning of the upward movement of the crank pin, the lateral throw of the upper lever arm is comparatively small, whereas toward the end of the upward movement and at the beginning of the downward movement, the lateral throw is relatively large, to gradually decrease again as the crank pin reapproaches bottom position. This causes the pin to describe an oval curve in a vertical plane substantially as shown at 45 in the development of Figure 8.

The second frame carries, in its channel, the

mounting plate .32, illustrated in detail in Figure 7, which may be secured in any one of several 7 positions by means of a pin passing through a hole 36 in the mounting plate into any one of a plurality of holes 31 in the second frame 24.

The channel guides 33 hold the mounting plate with freedom .of vertical sliding movement, and the different adjustments are provided to make the machine adaptable for handling various sizes of bottles'or containers.

The mounting plate 32 is provided with a hub 38 which supports the capping device 3|, the latter being ofconventional construction. It is'apparent thatrthe capper or capping device follows the same curve as thestud 21.

The capper may be briefly described ascomprising a stem secured upon the hub 38 so as to project downwardly therefrom and terminating at its bottom end' in a head 5| adapted to push a cardboard cap 52 into the bottle 4| when stem.

Prior to each operation, a cap is in position underneath the head 5|. As the housing strikes the upper endwof-the bottle, it is stopped in its downward movementbut thestem-50 continues itstdownwardmovement and pushes the cap-into place. -At the .same time the pin '51 moves the slide 55 outwardly, allowing the caps in the maga- 1 zine to drop. "On reversal -ofthe movement of "thestem'the head 5| retracts and the slide 55 positions anotherycap for thenext operation.

The stem'53 of the capper, of course, describes the same oval curve as the pin 21, in a vertical plane, and it should be positioned, with respect to the traveling of' the bottles,-to make the vertical plane approximately tangent to the arc fol- ..lowed by-the bottles,- as indicated at 44 and 43 of Figure 8. This makes the twopaths substantially coincide for a brief period, and it is during this period that: the capping operation 'takes place.

Guide-rails 39 are provided for. the on-coming bottles on the dimer table and a guide-rail 40 guides the out-going bottlesfi; The bottles are placed between the two guide-rails 39, and as the machine rotates, they progress toward the star 9. The pockets-in the star pick up the containers, one at a time, and properly space and time-them with respect to the cappermovementand after capping, the bottles continue to travel. on the disc to a clear place from which they are removed.

The synchronized action of the bottles and the capper is illustrated in the diagram ofFigure 8 which also shows a development of the curve described by the capper. Th point 42 denotes the center of the disc, and the are 43 thepath of the bottles on the disc. The straight line 44, which is substantially tangent to the arc, denotesthe vertical plane in'which the capper moves, describing an endless path traced in theoval outline, shown at 45. r

Referring to the diagram, morefiparticularly, the lower circle 46 denotes th travel of the crank pin of shaft l2 and of the lower end oflthe connecting rod 2|. It is shown as being divided into twelve equal parts, as designated by the letters A to M, respectively. The horizontal lines Al to GI in the upper portion of the diagram, are spaced to correspond tothe vertical movement of the pin 21 or the capping devicedurin each one-twelfth of a revolution of the crankpin. I

The diagonal lines passing through the point 3|] represent movement of the lever 28 during the same intervals, and the points A2 to M2 at the intersections of the diagonal lines and the horizontal lines, denote thepath-of travel of the pin 21 or of the capping device. 1 i

In the central portion of the diagram, the are 43 indicates the travel of the bottle, and the points with letters A3, B3, etc., denote advances of the bottle for each one-twelfth of a revolution of the crank pin on shaft I2, the total advance from A3 to A3 corresponding to one-eighth of a revolution of the table I. The line 44 indicates the vertical plane in which the capper travels,

, and the broken line projected from points D2 to K2 of the oval 45 show the location and advance of the capper while the bottle travels from G3 to K3.

It will be noted that the arc of the disc is sufficiently large to cause a small portion thereof, located between the points E3 and J3, to substantially lie in the vertical plane 44. This leaves only a comparatively short space available for performing the capping operation, and explains the advantage of the rather sudden dip in the curve showing the path of the capper.

Referring to the oval curve, it will be noted, by comparison of characters, that the capping operation is performed between the points E2 and J2, that is, during that portion of the travel where the capper makes the decided dip in its oval path.

The development of the oval curve may be readily traced by following the characters, the circle 46 tracing the path of the crank pin, and the point 30 indicating the fulcrum of the lever 28. The horizontal lines Al to GI denote the vertical distance travelled by the crank pin during each one-twelfth of a revolution, and the diagonal lines indicate the corresponding horizontal travel due to the lever action.

It is apparent that instead of positioning the parts with respect to one another for th vertical plane 44 to be tangent to the are 43, they might be changed slightly to cause the vertical plane to just barely intersect the arc, as indicated in the drawing, so that the slight difference in the paths is taken up on both sides of the vertical plane, and thereby reduced by one-half.

In operation, as each bottle reaches E3 of the are 43, the capper reaches point E2 on the oval curve 45. It then applies the cap in a dipping movement, while it passes from point E2 of the oval curve to the point J2, the bottle in the meantime moving from point E3 to point J3.

The bottle then continues its advance on the arc 43whi1e the capper' follows the path of the oval curve until it again reaches point E2, at which time a new bottle has reached point E2 on are 43. Thus both the bottle and the capper remain in continuous motion. Y I

I claim: I L In a container capping niachine,-a capping device, means for mounting the same with free dom of horizontal and vertical movement, a rotary shaft having a crank'therein, a connecting link driven'by the crank for imparting vertical movement to the device and a lever actuated by the crank-for imparting horizontal movement to the device, the lever having a fixed fulcrum and sliding connection with the 'crankandethe capping device to bring about variation in *therelative operative lengths of thelever'armsas the capping device moves vertically. l

2. In a container capping machine; a mir or vertical standards," a frame mountedthereon with freedom of vertical, reciprocating motion, a second frame mounted on f the" first frame with freedom of horizontal reciprocating motion, a crank shaft mounted with respect to 'thetwo frames; a connecting-rod between the crank and the first frame for imparting vertical 'reci'pfo eating motion to the latter, a -lever-actuatedby the crank shaft and operating the second frame to impart horizontal reciprocating motion to the latter and a capping device carried by the second frame.

3. In a container capping machine, a frame,

means for vertically reciprocating the same, a

second frame carried by the first frame with freedom of horizontal reciprocating movement, a crank shaft, a lever connection between the crank shaft and the second frame for reciprocating the latter and a capping device carried by the second frame.

4. In a container capping machine, a frame,

means for vertically reciprocating the same, a

second frame carried by the first frame with freedom of horizontal reciprocating movement and having a capping devicesupported thereon, a crank shaft, and a lever connection between the crank shaft and the second frame for reciprocating the latter, the lever having a fixed fulcrum and forked ends slidably engaging over the crank and the second frame to bring about variation in the lever throw for different positions of the first frame.

5. In a container capping machine, a housing, a shaft vertically supported therein, a second shaft horizontally supported in thewall of the housing, a pair of posts mountedon opposite sides of the second shaft, means for transmitting motion from the second shaft to the first shaft, a table on the first shaft having means for guiding containers past the two posts at intervals, a frame vertically reciprocable on the posts, a crank in the second shaft, a link connecting the crank and the frame for vertically reciprocating the latter, a second frame mounted on the first frame with freedom of horizontal reciprocating movement and having a pin projecting therefrom, a lever carried by the posts and having forked ends engaging over the crank and the pin for horizontally reciprocating the second frame, and a capping device carried by the second frame.

6. In a machine of the character described, a frame, means for mounting the same with freedom of vertical reciprocating movement, a second frame, a capping device carried by the second frame, means for mounting the same on the first frame with freedom of horizontal reciprocating movement, a connecting rodfor vertically reciprocating the first frame, a leverfor horizontally reciprocating the second frame and a common crank for actuating both the connecting link and the lever.

7. In a machine of the character described, a frame,,means for mounting the same with freedom of vertical reciprocating movement, a second frame, a capping device carried by the second frame, means for supporting the same on the first frame with freedom of horizontal reciprocating movement, a connecting rod for vertically reciprocating the first frame, a lever for horizontally reciprocating the second frame and a common crank for actuating both the connecting rod and the lever, the lever having sliding connection with the second fram and the crank for actuating the former at constantly varying leverages.

8. In a container capping machine, a housing, a shaft vertically supported therein, a second shaft horizontally supported in the wall of the housing, a pair of posts mounted on opposite sides of the second shaft, means for transmitting motion from the second shaft to the first shaft, 21, table on the first shaft having means for guiding containers past the two posts at intervals, a

frame vertically rcciprocable on the posts, a crank in the second shaft, a second frame mounted on the first frame with freedom of horizontal reciprocating movement, means operated by the crank for imparting a compound vertical and horizontal movement to the second frame, and a capping device carried by the second frame.

9. In a container capping machine, a housing, a shaft vertically supported therein, a second shaft horizontally supported in the Wall of the housing, a pair of posts mounted on opposite sides of the second shaft, means for transmitting motion from the second shaft to the first shaft, a table on the first shaft having means for guiding containers past the two posts at intervals, a frame vertically reciprocable on the posts, a crank in the second shaft, a second frame mounted on the first frame with freedom of horizontal reciprocating movement, means operated by the crank for imparting a compound vertical and horizontal movement to the second frame, and a capping device carried by the second frame, the latter means including a lever mechanism and sliding connections therein for imparting horizontal movement to the second frame at continuously varying leverages.

EVERETT S. MINARD. 

